If you’ve been following the European economic fiasco over the last few years, you might have heard of the case where Russia is instituting a “recycling fee” which amounts to a tariff on cars imported from the EU. They’re of course not applying that to all cars which violates global trade rules under the WTO, which Russia is a member of.
There are larger problems with a move like this related to labor and employment. The EU is setup under the principles of freedom of movement and freedom of labor–which means that anyone can go anywhere, do anything and work anywhere. Where products are imported and exported has a direct effect on labor.

The question becomes should [...]

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France and the U.S Labor Laws: Moving Further Apart

France and the United States are sometimes considered to be opposite ends of the regulations spectrum. The United States tends to adopt an outlook of deregulation and free market economics such as the concept of employment at will; while France concentrates on the protection of workers’ rights and on the implementation of a comprehensive labor and employment code.

To illustrate the differences, we look at the amount of ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. This is a metric that does not necessarily accurately define the level of provided protection or regulation of a country’s laws, but can shed some light on the relative amount and complexity of the [...]

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